Summary:
There's a mix up at the hotel, and there is only one room left for the two of them to share. (Bobby and Hen are both amused at their gay panic).
Fighting fires and responding to emergency calls every day for hours on end was exhausting. Privately, Eddie thought that days like today were the worst: being forced into too small conference rooms over multiple days to go over new policies and ideas in their field – all without ever actually doing anything. They were particularly bad when they didn't take place in Los Angeles, and of course this one hadn't.
He sighed as he made his way with Buck and Bobby to the check in desk at the conference hotel. Today, while grueling and exhausting despite sitting in a chair for eight hours, was only the first day of a four-day conference, and Eddie was ready to pass out until he was forced to get up the next morning. He was already day dreaming of collapsing into bed when the front desk attendant's voice broke through his consciousness.
"I'm sorry sirs, there's been a problem."
"What kind of problem?" Bobby asked, his tone not betraying the slight annoyance Eddie knew he must be feeling.
"The hotel was overbooked for this week as there are multiple conferences going on. We are unable to offer you the three rooms that your reservation was made for."
Eddie groaned internally, and he heard Buck make a soft noise of displeasure to his left. While they all genuinely enjoyed each other's company, and maybe Eddie enjoyed Buck's a bit too much but all three of them were drained and wanted only to crash alone in blissful silence.
"We can, however, offer you two rooms, although each only has one bed. We have one queen and one king but those are the only empty rooms we have left." She offered them a sympathetic glance. "Maybe two of you could share?"
Bobby turned to face both Buck and Eddie, his eyebrow raised questioningly. Even though he knew it was hopeless, Eddie sent up a quick prayer that he wouldn't ask them to share and then, Buck had to go and open his mouth.
"Eddie and I can share Bobby, it's fine."
Bobby turned to Eddie, who nodded despite his heart beating too fast for his chest and his head screaming for him not to. "It'll be fine as long as Buck doesn't steal all the blankets." He added, shooting the blonde a smile.
"Hey!" protested Buck, bumping his shoulder against Eddie's. "I'll have you know I'm a delight to share a bed with!"
Eddie privately thought so too, but refrained but from saying anything, redirecting his focus back to Bobby's raised eyebrows before he turned back around to get the keycards. Eddie blushed, and then cursed himself for it, rubbing his hands over his face in a bid to hide it.
"Alright you guys are 307, and I'm 109." Bobby said, handing them two room keys and picking back up his duffle. "I'll see you both at 8 AM tomorrow for the first conference meeting. And make sure you eat dinner!"
"Yes Pops!" Buck replied jokingly, clapping his hand on Bobby's shoulder. "C'mon Eddie, I'll race you to the room service menu!" He set off towards the elevator, leaving Eddie laughing slightly behind him. He turned to say goodnight to Bobby, but catching his knowing gaze, smiled and nodded before following Buck hastily to the elevator, preemptively ending all attempts at a conversation that he thinks Bobby wanted to have.
Walking into the room and catching sight of the king-sized bed was another matter altogether. Hypothetically talking about sharing a bed, and actually staring at the bed you were going to share with your hopeless crush were two totally different things. He blamed this realization for why it took him a few seconds to realize Buck had been talking to him.
"Eddie! Hey!"
"What?"
"You zoned out there for a minute man, you okay?"
"Oh yeah. I'm just tired Buck."
Evan studied him for a minute, before shrugging slightly and smiling. "I was asking you what side of the bed you usually slept on."
"Oh...um the right side. It's closer to the door so if Christopher needs me..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's perfect cause I'm usually on the left side." He smiled before dropping his duffle on the floor next to the bed and stretching, his shirt rising up above the waistband of his pants, before dropping back down. Eddie stared for a minute before dropping his own bag down and kicking off his shoes. "Dude, we have to get some food, I am starving."
"The room service menu should be on the desk if you don't want to leave the hotel."
"Are you serious? I'm about ready to fall asleep!"
'What are you an old man?" Eddie teases as he sits down on the edge of the bed to fish his phone out of his pocket. "Even Christopher isn't in bed yet and he's eight!"
"Ha, ha." Buck deadpanned, sticking out his tongue at Eddie when he turned around to look at him. "I'll have you know this amount of beauty takes a lot of sleep to maintain."
"Aw Buck, you think you're pretty? How cute!"
"Shut up Diaz." grumbled Buck, throwing a pillow at him. "You wouldn't know pretty if it hit you in the face."
"Sure I wouldn't Buck." Eddie say consolingly, catching the pillow and biting back a smile when Buck glared at him.
"How is he anyways?"
"Who?'
"Christopher."
"Oh." Eddie replied, his insides warming at the thought of Buck thinking about his son. "He's great like always. He's spending the night at Hen and Karen's tonight to spend some time with Denny." He paused, before picking up his phone. "I was actually just about to call to see how it was going."
Buck smiled, moving to stand up. "I can leave and give you some privacy if you want?"
"Nah, it's fine. Knowing Hen, she's going to tell me to stop bugging her and hang up within a minute." They both chuckled, knowing the no nonsense attitude their friend had. "Why don't you order us something from room service while I call?"
Buck shrugged, grabbing the menu as Eddie clicked on Hen's contact through FaceTime. "Sure – hey what do you want?"
"Just a burger and fries would be fine –"
"Hello?"
"Hey Hen!"
"Eddie, I swear to god your kid is fine. You're already texting me every hour for updates you don't need to call too!"
Eddie smiled sheepishly into the phone as Buck barked out a laugh from the chair he was perched on. He watched in slight horror as a sly grin grew on Hen's face but before he could derail her she asked. "Who's there with you?"
"Buck" He answered, tilting the phone so Hen could see him.
"Oohh you got yourselves a king-sized bed! Something you want to tell me?" She crowed, laughing at the slightly panicked look on Eddie's face.
"No, there's nothing to tell! The hotel just ran out of rooms, so we're sharing."
"Uh huh. Sure, they did. How are you doing Buck?"
"Hey Hen, I'm fine. I'm trying to order us food, but you keep distracting us."
"Oh, dinner and a room? Spicy." She laughed, before Eddie tried to redirect the conversation.
"Can we get back to my kid please?"
Hen's face softened marginally, before replying. "He's great Eddie I promise. Do you want to talk to him?"
"Please?"
Hen's face disappeared from the camera briefly, her voice muffled as she called for Christopher, before his face popped on Eddie's screen.
"Hi daddy!"
"Hi bud! Are you having fun?"
"Uh huh! We're gonna make smore's in the backyard!"
"Wow! That does sound fun!"
"Yeah! And Denny has way more Legos than me! We built a spaceship!"
"I'm glad you're having a good time buddy."
"Are you okay daddy?"
"Yep I'm fine! I'm not having nearly as much fun as you though!" He smiled and made face, causing Christopher to giggle.
"How's Buck?"
"He's good – do you wanna talk to him?"
Christopher nodded excitedly, squealing when Eddie handed the phone over to Buck and his face came into view. "Buck!"
"Hey little man! Sounds like you're having tons of fun!"
"Yep!" He giggled. "Are you and my daddy having fun?"
"We sure are! We're just about to eat some food."
"Are you coming back soon?" Buck glanced at Eddie who was smiling at him, before redirecting his gaze to the phone.
"Only three more days Christopher."
"When you're back can you come over to my house? I got new action figures from my abuela and I want you to see them!"
"If it's okay with your dad, then I'd love to squirt." He laughed at the face Christopher made at the nickname before looking up at the knock on the door. "I gotta go buddy, here's your dad back." He said before handing the phone back over to Eddie.
"Hey Christopher." Eddie said, smiling when his son looked at him with a huge smile. "Our food just got here so I need to go too okay?"
"Okay dad. Buck can come over right?"
"If he wants to then yes he can."
"Okay." Christopher nodded. "Bye!" He shouted, the phone tilting all around for a second before Hen's face came back into view.
"Bye Christopher. Love you!" He called after his son.
"Sorry." Hen apologized. "Karen got out the smore's stuff and he was too excited to wait any longer."
"It's fine." Eddie said smiling. "I need to go too and eat while the food is still hot."
"Well you boys have a good night." Hen, replied winking, shutting off the connection before Eddie could say a retort. He sighed, tossing his phone down on the bed before turning to face Buck who was setting the tray of food down on the table in the corner of the room.
"Your food awaits monsieur." Buck drawled in a phony French accent gesturing to the tray of food.
"God you're a dork." Eddie said, smiling fondly when Buck shot him an offended look before breaking out into a smile of his own.
"Well this dork got you a beer, and if you want it you better behave and stop making fun of me."
"You got me a beer? I could kiss you!" Eddie responded wincing when he realized what he had just said. An awkward silence fell over the room, and Eddie scrambled to fix it. "I mean. Um, thank you?" He added, blushing when Buck shot him another scrutinizing look.
They ate in near silence, the TV flickering in the background, turned to some reality TV show that Buck had clicked on. Eddie drowned the noise out, replaying how Buck had smiled at his son when they were talking, the way he laughed with his whole body. He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts but they stubbornly remained. He could not like Buck, who even if he wasn't straight, was still with Ali. Sighing he picked up his plate and glass and set it on the tray before walking to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
After he had splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth he realized a very crucial clothing item he had neglected to pack: pajamas.
"Fuck!" He whispered to himself, instantly panicking. Sharing a bed with his crush fully clothed was one thing, but sharing a bed in just his boxers with his crush? Unbelievable. He didn't even want to bring up to Buck who would probably be too understanding about the entire thing. He put back on his shirt before he opened the door and found Buck sifting through his duffle with his shirt off.
"So," Buck started, looking up at Eddie leaning on the door frame. "We might have a problem."
"What do you mean we have a problem?" He asked, forgetting his own dilemma for a brief minute.
"I didn't bring any pajamas."
"Wait, what?"
Buck shrugged, looking sheepish. "I usually sleep in just my boxers, and I didn't think we'd be sharing a room, so I didn't bring any."
Eddie stared at him for a minute before bursting out laughing. "Oh my god." He finally said, still laughing. "I didn't bring any either." Buck started laughing, finally in on the joke, before they both sobered up slightly. "Well, what should we do?" Eddie asked.
"We could just both sleep in our boxers?" Buck asked, looking down at his duffle instead of looking at Eddie.
"We can't – you're dating Ali!"
Buck bit his lip looking up at Eddie. "We actually broke up. Um, but it doesn't matter anyways, we can still the share the bed if you're okay with it?"
Eddie looked at him for a moment before nodding, trying not to betray the way his heart was pounding. "That's fine Buck."
"Great." Buck shot him a small smile, before moving to the bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute and then we can both crash okay?"
Eddie nodded, setting his stuff down in his duffle as the door clicked closed behind him. He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. It was just 3 nights. He could do this. He could definitely sleep inches away from his longtime crush and not let on that he had feelings for him. Easy. He snorted at himself, shaking his head as he pulled off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants. If they were going to share a bed in only boxers, he was going to do himself the dignity of getting under the covers first.
He propped himself up on the headboard, lower half covered by the sheets, as he lazily flipped through pictures of Christopher on his phone. He paused, yawning so wide that tears came to his eyes, and he heard the bathroom door open, Buck stepping back into the room.
"You okay there Diaz?"
Eddie hummed, setting down his phone before wriggling down the bed a little. "I'm just tired Buck." He mumbled, suddenly ready to drift off the sleep after laying somewhat horizontally.
He didn't catch the way Buck smiled softly at him, the edges tinged with something that looked like longing, before he too, climbed into bed. Eddie turned over just in time to see Buck's abs, and his brain short circuited. While he was somewhat used to seeing them during the work day at the Firehouse, seeing them set against the off-white sheets of the hotel bedding was a completely different story.
"Can I turn off the light?" asked Buck, his arms already stretching out to turn it off.
"Sure." Eddie murmured, silently admiring the muscles in Buck's arm before he blinked slowly, his eyelids feeling heavy. The room was plunged into darkness, not even the light of the streetlamps making their way through the curtains.
Buck sighed contentedly, rolling over to face Eddie as he got comfortable. "Night Eddie." He whispered, looking like he was also about to fall asleep. Eddie was suddenly seized with a desire to kiss him, but instead asked:
"Why didn't you tell me you and Ali broke up?"
Buck's eyes blinked open, staring into Eddie's through the darkness. Eddie all of a sudden became quite aware that their heads were only a foot apart, at most.
"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it." He finally said, his voice quiet. "She was mad that I kept spending all my time at the station and hanging out with you guys instead of with her. And I didn't want to make you guys feel bad."
Eddie breathed out a quiet "oh" focused on how long Buck's eyelashes were when he blinked.
"Why do you care?" Buck finally asked, breaking the quiet that had set over the pair of them.
"Well I might have done something."
Buck raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical of Eddie's answer. "Done what?"
Seized with a sudden surge of bravery, Eddie muttered "This," and leaned in to kiss him, grabbing his face in his hands as Buck deepened it.
"Eddie –" He started, after he had pulled away, his voice hushed and confused.
"I've loved you for a long time Evan." Eddie whispered, grabbing Buck's hand. "This isn't because we're sharing a bed almost naked, or a rebound just because you broke up with Ali. I've wanted to, to kiss you and hug you and date you since a week after we met. It only got worse after I saw what an amazing person you are, how great you are with Christopher. But I was afraid that you saw me only as a friend, and that I'd ruin the best friendship I've ever had so I just kept quiet."
"So why now?" Buck asked quietly, his eyes darting between their linked hands, and Eddie's face.
"Because you're close to me for the first time in a week, and my self control is shot." He smiled as Buck huffed a laugh, scooting a little closer.
"We both can't have control issues if we're gonna be in a relationship Eddie."
"You mean?" Eddie asked, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
"If I wanted to be in a relationship with anyone, it's you Eddie. I think...I think I spent so much time with you and Christopher and at the firehouse because I was trying to convince myself that dating Ali was fine, only it wasn't. Because I'd look at you and fall in love all over again, but I wasn't sure – I didn't know you'd want this too."
Eddie kissed him again, quickly but assuredly, before drawing back to look him in the eyes. "I definitely want this."
Buck smiled brightly, his teeth shining in the darkness, and Eddie felt himself falling in love all over again. "Good." He said, moving forward to kiss Eddie this time, drawing it out slowly until Eddie was convinced they didn't need sleep tonight if they could keep doing this. He rolled back over, his back facing Eddie's front, before tugging Eddie's arm over him, urging him to come closer. "Now shush, I need my beauty sleep."
Eddie laughed quietly, settling himself behind Buck more comfortably. "Of course, you do cariño." He pressed a kiss to his temple, smiling when Buck hummed contentedly again.
"What's that mean?" Buck asked sleepily, trying to roll over, to look at Eddie.
"I'll tell you in the morning." He whispered, kissing him again.
"M'kay." He answered, nuzzling in to Eddie's touch. "Love you." He whispered before he closed his eyes, his lashes fluttering as sleep pulled him under.
"Love you too Evan."
Notes:
Written for Buddie Week Day 2: Firsts!
(cariño means darling in spanish and I love Eddie using spanish nicknames so sue me)
I am so sorry it's a day late! I thought it'd be able to finish it and then I couldn't, and now it's like 3,000 words and got away from me. YIKES.
But I hope y'all enjoyed the tropes I threw in their for you -- it made me giggle just writing it so hopefully it did the same as you read it. They also just had like 20 firsts -- first time sharing a bed, first kiss, first time saying ILY to each other...ah my boys. :)
As always check out my Tumblr @ marauder-girl.tumblr.com